


I just wanted to be like you

by wordsxstars



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Irondad, Other, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Whump, mcu - Freeform, peterparker, tonystark - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-06 11:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19062148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsxstars/pseuds/wordsxstars
Summary: Alternate ending to spiderman: homecoming, and the story follows the space of time before infinity war and endgame (because in this house we say screw canon)





	1. Chapter 1

_If you're nothing without that suit, then you shouldn't have it_

After the kid had gone home, Tony's own words had played around his head for hours. 

Shouting at him had been a mistake, but it was a necessary mistake.

"That kid is going to be the death of me," he muttered as he put in the code to enter his lab, "too goddamn reckless."

_"That sounds like someone I know boss."_

He rolled his eyes at the faintly amused voice coming from the walls around him.

"Thank you for your input FRIDAY."

_"Im here all day boss."_

He smiled despite himself, but the smile faded fast. The truth was, the kid was a lot like him in that sense. Reckless, incredibly stupid, and a little too willing to throw himself into danger. Taking the suit... it would make the kid learn. Make him realise that sometimes it was okay to stay away from the danger and let someone more qualified handle it. Someone who wasn't so likely to get themselves killed. He sighed heavily, trying to clear his head of the devastated look on Peter's face. 

_I'm nothing without this suit._

Tony stood suddenly, needing some air, needing to breathe. There was some sense of unease that had settled inside of him, and it was putting him on edge.

"FRIDAY, could you put me through to the Kid's aunt, I just want to check a couple of things with her."

_"Calling May Parker."_

He waited for her to pick up, resisting the urge to drum his fingers on the table. He was being paranoid over nothing. 

"Hello?"

"This is Tony Stark."

He heard only silence on the end of the phone, and then-

"My kid came home crying today. Care to explain?"

That was guilt he could feel in his chest, but he shoved it away, keeping his voice calm as he neatly side stepped the question.

"Is he still at home?"

A huff of annoyance came from the other end of the phone. "No. He went to homecoming. He should be back in a couple of hours."

He nodded, even though May couldn't see him. 

"Thank you for the help miss Parker"

"wait-"

But he had already hung up the phone. The unease had dimmed slightly, and Tony ran a hand through his hair. 

"FRIDAY, can you take a look at the kid's suit. See if its taken any damage. Send me a report later?"

 _On it boss,_ came the calm reply, and Tony stood, wondering if Pepper was still up for dinner- 

_"Boss, you might want to take a look at this."_

His head snapped up, and he narrowed his eyes. "What?"

_"Reports are coming in of a plane crash."_

"So?" He was past caring at this point, past caring if it made him a shit superhero. He wanted to eat, and then sleep.

_"Spiderman was seen on the side of the plane just before the crash."_

Tony could have sworn he felt his heart stop. 

_Shit._

He took a second to catch his breath before he regained composure. 

"Send the coordinates to my suit, and get Happy to call May Parker and tell her-" But what did you tell her? She had no idea Peter was Spiderman, no idea about any of this. He gritted his teeth. "Scratch the last part. I can make the call when i get back. Oh and put me through to Pepper will you?'

_"On it boss."_

A second later, Pepper's voice was in the room, filled with concern. 

"Tony? Is everything okay?"

"All fine." He kept his voice calm. "I need to go and deal with something, but i'll be back in an hour at most okay?"

He could hear the relief as she spoke again. "Okay. Be safe." Click. Call ended. And now to go and deal with... whatever the hell had happened. He had told the kid more than once to stay out of it, had yelled at him, had taken away his suit to get him to back down. And yet somehow, he still managed to get himself into a goddamn plane crash. 

He was in his suit before the door had even closed behind him

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Peter had thought that getting a building dropped on him would be the worst case scenario of the evening. 

Apparently, a plane crash hurt more. He didn't move for a while after hitting the ground. From experience, it took a lot to get him to stay down, but Peter could feel the ache in his whole body. His head wouldn't stop spinning, and he was glad he couldn't see what he looked like.  The panic that had come with having a building dropped on his head... it had messed with his senses more than he cared to admit.

He coughed, and the movement sent pain ripping through his chest. He gritted his teeth to hold back a cry of pain, focusing on the parts of his body that didn't feel like they were about to implode. Arms and legs felt okay, if not a little bruised. Head... still spinning. 

" _Sh_ _it,"_ he whispered. "Karen-"  he trailed away, another burst of pain shooting through him. No Karen, no phone, no tracker, nothing. Darkness began to close on the edge of his vision, and he forced his eyes open, the movement causing his head to ache. He needed help, needed to call someone, do  _something._ But no one even knew he was there. The vulture had gone. Maybe he had been arrested, maybe he had gotten away. He didn't know how much time had passed since he had felt the impact from the fall. 

He blinked, forcing away the blackness that was trying to fight its way in. He was no doctor, but even he knew that passing out with broken ribs and a head injury couldn't be good.

Suddenly, he became aware of a whirring noise next to his head and he turned as much as he could to get a look at it. From what he could see, it looked like a tiny drone, similar to the one that had been part of his old suit. When he heard the voice come out of it, he thought he was going insane. 

"Hey kid."

_Tony_

He opened his mouth to speak, but only a cough came out, causing another wave of pain to hit him so hard that he almost blacked out. 

"Kid?"

He made a noise that was half laugh, half sob. 

"Hi."

He really must have been going insane, because for a second he almost thought he heard the billionaire sigh in relief. 

"I'm locked onto your coordinates and ill be there in a minute, but I need you to stay awake."

"Harder... harder than you think."

It was getting more and more difficult to breathe, and the darkness on the edge of his vision was slowly closing in. Tony's voice came back to him, snapping him to reality for a split second. 

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm kid," he said in a voice that suggested the complete opposite.

Peter couldn't answer, the spinning in his head was rapidly morphing into a burning pain that made him clench his eyes shut. The sounds around him were getting fainter, and white noise was taking over. 

" _Peter._ " 

 But he was so far past responding now. But then there was something... some sort of impact next to him, and he vaguely had the sensation of cold metal touching his arms. But then everything was too much, and he gave into the darkness. The strangely familiar scent of motor oil and cologne wrapped around him like an embrace, and his eyes closed.

 

.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.

 

 _"Welcome back Peter."_ FRIDAY's voice reached his ears.

Peter struggled to sit up, decided that it was causing a lot more pain than it was worth, and stayed lying down. 

"Um... where am i?"

_"The Stark Tower"_

And then it hit him like a truck. The building collapse, the crash, the drone, and then the feeling... the feeling of flying. Or rather being carried by something that was flying. He slammed a lid shut on the memories before they could send him into a panic.

_"Your heart rate has increased dramatically, would you like me to call Mr Stark?"_

"No," he says, and it comes out a little louder than expected. "My aunt-"

_"Your aunt has already been notified that you felt unwell at the dance and are staying here for the weekend. She is concerned about you, but understands that it is best for you not to over exert yourself."_

He did sit up then, causing a flash of pain that he ignored. 

"FRIDAY... she doesn't know I'm Spiderman.'

The AI's calm voice came back to him. 

_"As I said Peter, Mr Stark has taken care of everything. He requests you rest until you are well enough to move."_

"I'm fine," he said quietly, and by her silence, he knew that he didn't sound convincing. 

"You certainly don't look fine kid."

He turned towards the door so fast he almost gave himself whiplash, and then winced. Tony rolled his eyes. 

"Point proven."

"You scared me," Peter muttered under his breath, avoiding his mentors gaze. The last time they had spoken he had been seconds away from passing out. The time before that... 

"Oh I did? Is that because you fried your senses after crashing a plane?"

Under the exhaustion and exasperation that layered his voice, Peter thought he heard something that sounded a lot like concern. It only took him a split second to realise that Tony didn't know about the building that had collapsed on top of his head, and therefore didn't know why exactly his heightened senses were still feeling a little... fragile.

"How long-

Tony cut across him with ease. "FRI?"

 _"It has been fifteen hours and thirty six minutes since you arrived with him boss_. _He was asleep for the majority of it."_

Peter swallowed hard, and then decided to address the part of the night he wanted to remember. 

"You..." A deep breath in. "You saved me?"

The billionaire shrugged, face unreadable. "I wasn't about to let you bleed out on a beach. That's just depressing. I was near the area anyway when I heard the plane crash." There was a noise from the wall that sounded a lot like a huff of disbelief, which was confirmed when Tony glared at the ceiling. "Did I ask for your input FRIDAY?"

_"No sir, but if you wish to avoid commentary, you should reduce the amount of bullshit in the room."_

"You learnt sarcasm, fantastic." 

Peter bit back a laugh at the exchange, though he was slightly confused by it. "What's she talking about?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "None of your concern." This time, FRIDAY didn't comment. 

"O-okay." There was a beat of awkward silence and then Peter looked away. "Sorry."

Peter didn't look up, but there was an undertone of confusion in his mentors voice. "For what exactly."

He shrugged. "The ferry, the plane. All of it."

Against his will, he was taken back to the last time he had apologised to Tony Stark. 

_Sorry doesn't cut it._

But this time, the man sighed, and Peter looked up in time to see him shake his head. 

"The plane wasn't your fault kid. You did the right thing, and you saved a lot of lives in the process. I was wrong about you."

_What if somebody had died tonight? Different story, right? 'Cause that's on you._

Peter blinked at him. "Thanks? I think?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Okay enough chat. You need to rest. I told your aunt that you hadn't been feeling well and had come here because she was on an evening shift. She's happy for you to stay for the weekend."

"I- Are you sure?"

Tony gave him an exasperated look. "I said it didn't I? FRIDAY is here for whatever you need."

"Thank you," he said quietly, 

The billionaire waved it away. "Not a problem kid. Just try not to injure yourself anymore okay?"

Peter nodded, leaning back against the pillows. "Okay." 

Tony glanced back at him as he left, looking like there was something else he wanted to say, but then he shook his head and the door closed gently behind him.

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> short chapter before the angst starts. you know i love you all :)

When Tony walked out of Peter's room, he leant against the wall for a second, closing his eyes. The kid had looked so uncomfortable, Tony hadn't been sure whether to laugh or cry. But it was the bruises he could still see all over Peter that had prompted him to leave so fast. 

When he had found Peter... there had been a moment where he had been glad the Vulture wasn't there. Because he probably would have killed him. 

He was fifteen years old, and he was covered in more blood than Tony had seen in a long time. When he had picked him up... the kid had leant against him, hiding his face as if tony could shield him from the world. And it had nearly broken his heart, to see that amount of trust placed in him, after he had done nothing to earn it, and everything to break it.

He made his way down to the kitchen, glancing at the watch on his wrist. Almost one in the morning. Tony wasn't surprised he didn't feel tired. He had after all, headlined as the king of insomnia for longer than he cared to admit. But that wasn't important. Much too late for dinner, but maybe a coffee... so distracted by the thought of caffeine, he wasn't aware of his surroundings until he nearly slammed into Pepper as she came round the corner. 

"Pepper Potts you nearly gave me a heart attack." 

She laughed, and for a second Tony forgot everything else. 

"You should look where you're going more," she said with a smile, "usually when you're awake at one in the morning you're in the lab, but you're running around the halls. Is there something on your mind?"

He shook his head, taking her hand. "Nothing you need to worry about."

She gave him an unimpressed look, and Tony was suddenly reminded of why he had fallen in love with her in the first place.

"You're a shit liar. What's going on?" He hesitated, and she sighed. "Does it have anything to do with the fact that theres an unconscious fifteen year old upstairs?"

"Unfortunately, yes." He didn't bother asking how she knew. The woman knew everything. They made their way into the kitchen, and he slid onto one of the bar stools, running a hand through his hair. "He was injured badly yesterday in a plane crash."

Pepper looked at him sharply. "That's why you left so suddenly yesterday. To go and help him?" 

Tony nodded. "He screwed up the other day. Tried to do the right thing and nearly got an entire boat of people killed. So I-"

Pepper cut across him, making a time out sign. "Hang on. Who is this kid."

"Spiderman."

It was a credit to her that she didn't even blink. "Hence the internship."

Tony sighed heavily. "Yes, hence the internship."

Pepper nodded, "so he made a mistake, and I'm guessing you went and did something you're beating yourself up about?"

He nodded, standing to make himself a cup of coffee and ignoring the roll of Pepper's eyes. He wasn't going to sleep anyway. He wondered why she was awake too, though he guessed it probably had something to do with running a company. And it wasn't like he could judge. Tony didn't look up from the coffee machine as he spoke, voice soft in a way that only Pepper would ever hear.

"I took his suit, told him he couldn't have it back. I thought it would keep him away from the danger." He glanced up, and Pepper's expression hadn't changed. Coffee made, he went and sat down next to her again. "And then he went straight into the middle of it anyway, despite having nothing except a goddamn pair of pyjamas, and nearly got himself killed trying to take down the vulture."

The sympathy in her eyes almost broke him. She should be screaming at him, demanding why he had let a child be a hero in the first place. 

"So now you feel guilty because he's hurt." She sighed, eyes bright despite the late hour. "Tony, you can't blame yourself for that. It was his decision. You didn't know what was going to happen."

He shook his head. "Pep, he's got the same self sacrificing bullshit ingrained into him that I do. I should have known that he wouldn't back down."

Pepper shrugged. "You can't protect him from everything Tony, you know that's not how the world works."

And yet he wanted it to be the case. The urge to protect had started from the moment he had seen the kid crumpled on the airport tarmac in Berlin, and had only grown as he had built him the damn suit, had tried to keep his distance. And he had still nearly died.

"I want to at least try Pep. I dragged him into the mess, the least I can do is make sure that he doesn't end up-"

The smooth voice of the AI interrupted his ramblings. 

_"I'm sorry to interrupt boss, but it seems that Peter's vitals have spiked."_

He frowned. "I told you to tell me if he left his room."

_"He hasn't left his room boss, he seems to be having a nightmare."_

"Shit," he muttered. "FRIDAY can you-"

Pepper placed a gentle hand on his arm. "You go."

He turned to face her, barely concealing his surprise. "Come on Pep, we both know I'm shit with kids."

She shrugged. "Consider it a learning experience then. Go and help."

It was not so much a request as an order, but Tony still shot her a half hearted glare as he stood, glancing at his untouched coffee.

"You should go to bed Pep."

His fiancé laughed quietly as she glanced at her phone screen. "I've got to answer about a thousand emails. Sleeping would be counterproductive at this point. I've already tried and failed at that tonight."

Tony shook his head. "God I really am a bad influence. Let me know if you need anything."

She gave him a look of exasperation and a shooing gesture, and Tony rolled his eyes before making his way to Peter's room.

 


	4. Chapter 4

_I cant breathe_

There was a weight on Peter's chest.

A crashing, painful, restrictive weight.

He couldn’t breathe.

He pushed agains the rubble pressing down on him, breath coming in short gasps as the panic upped a notch.

_IcantbreatheIcantbreatheIcantbreathe._

Somewhere in the distance, he heard his name. But he couldn't answer even if he wanted to. No air left in his lungs from the rubble that was pressing down on his chest.

_Godpleasesomeonehelpmeicantbreatheicantbreathe_

“Peter”

That voice was closer now, and it sounded familiar, but fading. He was still trapped under so much goddamn weight, screaming where no one would find him. Back with the vulture, back in the darkness that wouldn't let him go no matter how hard he tried to lift it.

“ _Peter_.” The voice was so close now, but the darkness and the weight and the screaming he could hear was louder.

The weight was pushing him down. No strength left, no energy. He could feel tears running down his face. There was no one to help him, and the building pressed down-

_“Peter!”_

He jolted awake, head spinning and breath coming in gasps. Darkness around him, and he couldn’t breathe.

__Trappedtrappedtrappedtrapped_  
_

But there was the voice again, right next to him now.

“Peter, I need you to breathe with me”

He shook his head. He couldn't. He couldn't. But that familiar voice was surprisingly soft. He felt a hand close around his wrist and he resisted the urge to flinch away. He could hear his heartbeat thundering in his chest.

_Breathe_

There was a pressure on his hands, and he blindly allowed himself to move closer to the voice. Arms came around his back, pulling him against something warm, and they were gentle.

"Breathe kiddo. It was a dream."

But god, his heart wouldn't stop racing, and the panic wouldn't stop. “I can’t-"

_Trappedtrappedtrapped-_

"Just a dream. You're safe."

_Breathe._

Peter took a single, shuddering breath in. And out.

He felt his heart rate beginning to slow.

_Breathe._

He was pressed against something soft. Worn fabric. It smelled... it smelled like home.

He closed his eyes for a split second and the darkness pounced on him again.

 _Trapped_ -

His eyes flashed open, breathing accelerating, and the voice came back. “FRIDAY lights at 5%." There was a reply he couldn’t hear but then there was a glow of light around them.

Breathe.

His hands were clenched in the fabric of a shirt he dimly noted that it smelled of motor oil, coffee, and cologne. 

_Oh._

The panic finally started to fade.

"You good kid?"

Peter nodded, head pressed against Tony's chest. He could hear the steady thump of the billionaire's heart. He was distinctly aware of the embarrassment that was flooding through him because freaking iron man had just helped him through a panic attack and woken him up from a nightmare and seen him  _cry._ But another part of him didn't care, was so past caring. All he wanted to do was sleep, but the thought of closing his eyes...Tony shifted slightly and he carefully untangled himself from the older man's arms, thankful for the dim lighting. He touched his face, fingers coming away wet as he blinked back the urge to cry into the man's shirt.

"I'm-"

Tony held up a hand. "If you're about to say i'm sorry, I don't want to hear it. Nothing to be sorry for kid."

Peter stared at him for a second, trying to figure out something to say that wasn't an apology. he swallowed, voice coming out hoarse.

"Thank you."

Tony shrugged, a hint of amusement on his face. "Don't mention it. You think you're okay now?"

He glanced down at his hands, and then back up to his mentor. 

"I..."

Tony watched him for a second, and then seemed to make up his mind as he stood. 

"Okay, let's go."

He blinked in confusion but decided not to question him as he swung his legs out of bed, holding back a wince as his ribs gave a twinge of pain. Right. The reason he was here in the first place. He decided to ignore it, instead following Tony down the hall and to the kitchen. 

"Um... Mr Stark, what are we doing here?'

The billionaire, who had already started to pull things out of the cupboard, neatly side stepped the question.

"Why don't you go and make yourself comfortable on the sofa, I'll be with you in a second." 

Peter nodded wordlessly, and within minutes of him sitting down, Tony was there with two mugs of what smelled a lot like chocolate. Peter felt the first smile in a while tug at his lips. 

"I didn't know you were a hot chocolate drinker Mr Stark."

The man shrugged, relaxing into the sofa. "Full of surprises." 

There was a brief beat of silence and then he spoke again.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Peter shook his head.  _No. Yes. No._

"No."

"Try again, except this time, replace the no with a yes." His voice softened slightly. "Come on kid, you're talking to a pro at this stuff."

Peter looked down at his mug. If he thought hard enough, he could still feel the dust coating his hands, still feel the screaming in his muscles as he pushed-

"He dropped a building on me."

Dead silence. He didn't dare look up. He could hear Tony's heartbeat, and it had gotten a lot faster. When the other man spoke again, his voice was laced with something that sounded a lot like fear. Fear and ice cold anger.

"The vulture?"

Peter nodded, still staring at his hands. 

"I- I went to this warehouse. He was there. He sent these giant metal wings after me, but I didn't stop to worry because they never even came near me, and so i thought that maybe he was just being sloppy but he wasn't. He said... he said that he had never meant to hit me. The wings had taken out the supports in the building and I couldn't call for help because-" Peter broke off with a shake of his head.  _Breathe._  He looked up, meeting his mentor's eyes. 

"Because I took your suit," Tony finished for him, and that was pain he could see in the man's eyes. There was a beat of silence. "How did you get out?"

"I- I lifted it off me."

If he hadn't been looking, he would have missed the surprise that flickered in his eyes. Surprise, and pride. But then it faded, and Peter found himself staring at a face wearing nothing but shame.

"I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "Mr Stark it was my-"

"No." The man's voice was heavy as he shook his head. "No, it was my fault. I should have known you would go after him anyway, I should have known that you wouldn't step down. I shouldn't have taken the suit." There silence was echoing in the space around them. "I'm so sorry."

He wanted to argue, to try to diminish the guilt that he could see so clearly swimming in Tony's eyes. But he knew that it wouldn't do anything. So instead he went for a small smile, putting his mug gently on the floor.  

"Well you saved me from a plane crash, woke me up from a nightmare, let me cry all over your ACDC shirt, which is an awesome shirt by the way, and made me hot chocolate. So that makes it even."

The billionaire barked a laugh, shaking his head. "In what world does that make us even kid?"

Peter shrugged. "You're Iron man. That makes everything even."

Tony rolled his eyes, leaning back against the pile of cushions. "I would be inclined to disagree, but you're too stubborn for your own good."

Peter smiled despite himself, despite the darkness that still lingered from the nightmare, despite everything. His eyes felt heavy, and he remembered that it was way past two in the morning, and his body was still trying to heal. 

"You're more stubborn." He murmured as his eyes slid closed and he burrowed deeper into the sofa. He heard Tony laugh quietly, and a second later a blanket was tugged over him. 

This time, Peter wasn't afraid to fall asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading, ill try to get the next chapter up asap :)


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